ARTICLE 3. Definitions [94810. - 94871.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 3.
in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94812. Section 94812.

“Academic year” means a period, including a minimum of 30 weeks of instructional time, in which a full-time student attending an institution that measures educational program length in credit hours completes 24 semester or trimester hours or 36 quarter hours, or an institution that measures educational program length in clock hours completes at least 900 clock hours.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94813. Section 94813.

“Accredited” means an institution is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94816. Section 94816.

“Applicant” means a person, as defined in Section 94855, who has submitted an application to the bureau for an approval to operate or for a renewal of an approval to operate. An approval to operate shall be issued only to an applicant.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94817. Section 94817.

“Approval to operate” or “approval” means the authorization pursuant to this chapter to offer to the public and to provide postsecondary educational programs, as well as the written document issued to an institution signifying its approval to operate.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94817.5. Section 94817.5.

“Approved to operate” or “approved” means that an institution has received authorization pursuant to this chapter to offer to the public and to provide postsecondary educational programs.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94821. Section 94821.

“Change in business organization form” means a change of a business organization’s original form, including, for example, a situation in which a sole proprietorship becomes a partnership or corporation, or when a business organization becomes a nonprofit public benefit corporation or forms a nonprofit public benefit corporation as a subsidiary to provide the educational programs for which the business organization has an approval to operate.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94822. Section 94822.

“Change in control” means a change in the ownership of an institution in which a person who previously did not own at least 25 percent of the stock or interest in the institution or its parent company acquires ownership of at least 25 percent of the stock or interest in the institution or its parent company. “Change in control” does not include an ownership change between family members involving less than 51 percent of the stock or interest in the institution.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94823. Section 94823.

“Change in ownership” means the acquisition by a person of more than 50 percent of an interest in or stock of a parent company.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94824. Section 94824.

“Class day” means a day a student is scheduled to attend a class session, or for students receiving instruction through distance education, any calendar day except Saturday, Sunday, or any holiday enumerated in Section 6700 of the Government Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94827. Section 94827.

“Continuing education” means instruction that does not lead to a degree in subjects that licensees are required to take solely for the purpose of continued licensure, or to enhance the licensee’s skills and knowledge within their particular profession, occupation, trade, or career field.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94828. Section 94828.

“Curriculum” means an organized set of courses or modules of instruction that are prerequisites to the award of a degree or diploma.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94829. Section 94829.

“Default” means failure of a borrower and endorser, if any, to make an installment payment for a loan received under the federal student financial aid programs when due, or to meet other terms of the promissory note, provided that this failure persists for 270 days if payment is due monthly or 360 days if payment is due less frequently. For purposes of this section, “endorser” means an individual who signs a promissory note and agrees to repay the loan in the event that the borrower does not.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94830. Section 94830.

“Degree” means a recognized educational credential awarded by an institution that signifies satisfactory completion of the requirements of a postsecondary educational program at the associate’s level or above.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94831. Section 94831.

“Degree title” means the designated subject area of the educational program that appears on the face of the document awarded to a student.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94832. Section 94832.

“Diploma” means a recognized educational credential, other than a degree, awarded by an institution that signifies satisfactory completion of the requirements of a postsecondary educational program below the associate’s level. A diploma is also known as a certificate.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94836. Section 94836.

“Educational materials” means textbooks, supplies, implements, tools, machinery, computers, electronic devices, or other goods related to any education, training, or experience required for participation in an educational program.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94837. Section 94837.

“Educational program” means a planned sequence composed of a set of related courses or modules, or a single course or module if not offered as a component of a set of related courses or modules, that provides education, training, skills, or experience, or a combination of these, except that “educational program” does not include a single course, workshop, seminar, continuing education course, or other instruction that consists of 32 hours of instruction or less that is not designed to lead to employment.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94838. Section 94838.

“Educational program approval” means authorization by the bureau, another government agency of this state, or a federal government agency, to provide educational programs, and is an element of an approval to operate.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94841. Section 94841.

“Faculty” means the instructional staff of an institution, whether these persons are employees or independent contractors.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94843. Section 94843.

“Institution” means any private postsecondary educational institution, including its branch campuses and satellite locations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94846. Section 94846.

“Instruction” means an institution’s specific, formal arrangements in which its faculty present a part of the curriculum.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94847. Section 94847.

“License and examination preparation” means instruction designed to assist students to prepare for an examination for licensure. “License and examination preparation” does not include an educational program designed to instruct students in the skills and knowledge necessary to satisfy the qualifications for licensure.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94848. Section 94848.

“Licensure” includes any license, certificate, permit, or similar credential that a person must hold to lawfully engage in a profession, occupation, trade, or career field.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94850. Section 94850.

“Noninstitutional charges” means charges for an educational program paid directly to an entity other than an institution that are specifically required for participation in an educational program.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94850.2. Section 94850.2.

“Nonprofit corporation” means an institution to which contributions have been determined by the United States Internal Revenue Service to be tax-deductible pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the Internal Revenue Code, subject to the limitations described in Section 94874.1.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94850.5. Section 94850.5.

“Out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution” means a private entity without a physical presence in this state that offers distance education to California students for an institutional charge, regardless of whether the institution has affiliated institutions or institutional locations in California.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94851. Section 94851.

“Owner” means an individual in the case of a sole proprietorship, partners in a partnership, members in a limited liability company, or shareholders in a corporation.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94853. Section 94853.

“Parent company” means a partnership, limited liability company, or corporation that owns more than 50 percent of the stock or interest in an institution.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94854. Section 94854.

“Period of attendance” means a semester, quarter, or trimester for educational programs measured in credit hours and the entire educational program if measured in clock hours.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94856. Section 94856.

“Person in control” means a person who, by the authority or conduct of their position, directs the management of an institution.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94857. Section 94857.

“Postsecondary education” means a formal institutional educational program whose instruction is designed primarily for students who have completed or terminated their secondary education or are beyond the compulsory age of secondary education, including programs whose purpose is academic, vocational, or continuing professional education.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94858. Section 94858.

“Private postsecondary educational institution” means a private entity with a physical presence in this state that offers postsecondary education to the public for an institutional charge.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94858.5. Section 94858.5.

“Public institution of higher education” means any of the following: (a) An institution that meets the definition of subdivision (a) of Section 66010, including a district or campus of the California Community Colleges. (b) An institution operated by the United States government, a state, as defined in Section 3306(j)(1) of Title 26 of the United States Code, a local government, as defined in Section 1393(a)(5) of Title 26 of the United States Code, or Indian tribal government, as defined in Section 7701(a)(40) of Title 26 of the United States Code. (c) An institution that is an instrumentality of a state or local government if it meets all of the following: (1) The institution’s employees are government employees. (2) The institution’s liabilities are payable to the same degree as if they were liabilities of the state or local government, in the state or local government jurisdiction where the institution is formed. (3) The institution is subject to the same financial oversight and open public records laws as the state or local government, in the state or local government jurisdiction where the institution is formed.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94859. Section 94859.

“Recruiter” means an employee of an institution whose principal job responsibilities are the recruitment of students other than on the institution’s premises.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94861. Section 94861.

“Reporting period” means the institution’s fiscal year or any yearly period designated by the bureau to be covered in the institution’s annual report.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94866. Section 94866.

“Teach-out” means the arrangements an institution makes for its students to complete their educational programs when the institution or an educational program ceases to operate.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94867. Section 94867.

“Third-party payer” means an employer, government program, or other entity that pays a student’s total charges when no separate agreement for the repayment of the charges exists between the third-party payer and the student.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 94869. Section 94869.

“To operate” means to establish, keep, or maintain any facility or location in this state where, or from which, or through which, postsecondary educational programs are provided, or to enroll California residents in postsecondary educational programs in an institution based outside of the state via distance education.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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